A few big things have happened in my life recently, I didn’t have time to post I wanted to. But anyway, we’re back on track now and things are going to speed up from here with loads of cool article lined up for you guys coming soon. So I’ve been uploading videos to this channel now for a few months. And one of the requests I still seem to get is for me to do a video on how I make my content. So that’s what I’m going to do today, I’m going to show you guys how I shoot my videos from start to end. Now there’s a lot to cover here. So I’m going to split this video into two parts.

 The first part, this article is going to cover the filming aspect of making the videos and the tools and equipment that I use to achieve this. The second part of the video, which will come soon, is going to cover how I come up with my YouTube ideas, how I edit them, and then upload them to YouTube, plus some hints and tips along the way. As usual, I’ll make sure I link all the gear in the description of the video. So check that out. Firstly, you guys probably know by now, my main camera is the iPhone 12 Pro is just such an awesome camera. And it’s so easy to use. The 12 Pro has three lenses on the back, a regular wide lens, an ultra wide angle lens, and a zoom lens.

And one of the main reasons I use an iPhone camera Versus a more professional camera is the ability to just pick up and shoot quickly without complicated settings. So if you’re just getting started out in filmmaking, and want to mess around, and this is a brilliant camera to start to has an amazing autofocus capability, which is something you only really notice when you compare it alongside cameras. And it has an awesome low light capability, great image stabilization. I have an S 10, an S 20. And a flip phone. None of these phones come close the camera quality of the iPhone in my opinion.

Also because the clever color algorithms running in the background. Using an iPhone means you don’t have to spend hours color editing and correcting in post production, which speaking from personal experience can be a real time sink. So it’s worth mentioning towards the iPhone is first camera. Sometimes I need to use a different camera to film the iPhone itself. So if I want to take shots of my phone directly, I’ll just switch to another mobile camera like the s 10 or the S 20. When it comes to the settings I use it can vary depending on the shot. But for consistency always try and shoot in 4k at 30 frames per second. Less the short demand something different.

 For example, funding mostly wide shots. These often look better in a more cinematic 24 frames per second. If I’m shooting directly down on my iPad, or on a screen 60 frames per second is a much better framework to go for, it will get rid of screen flickering created by the rate the screen you’re looking at. Also, tip here, I have mine set to high efficiency mode in the settings. Page quality of high efficiency mode is slightly better. But if you’re getting laggy footage during the editing process, the most compatible be a better setting. So apart from the iPhone, let’s talk about some of the equipment I use. And there’s not a lot to cover here. But what I do have is really important.

First foremost, having a good microphone is key. It sounds really counterintuitive, but sound quality in videos tends to be a lot more important than video quality. So investing in a good microphone is one of the first things I’d recommend doing. And it doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money. For example, I use the Rode video micro which I’ll link to below. Considering how small and cheap it is. It’s an absolute beast of a microphone. I use it for all of my videos. It comes with the dead cat, which I take on and off depending on the shots I’m doing. So if you’re looking for where to invest money first, and this is what it go for. Just something to mention here.

 The regular orks cable this mic comes with is designed to work with digital cameras and not smartphones. So what you’ll need to do is to buy a separate cable called the s c seven, which I’ll link to below. And you will need an ox to lightning converter. It’s a bit of a faff, but unfortunately, that’s the quickest way around. here a quick side note, I pretty much always record the audio of the clip separately after I end shooting. It’s definitely a lot more work but I personally think it makes for a much better result. The next most important that in my equipment is the tripod. Now unfortunately there’s no getting around that good tripods are expensive. I would not recommend buying a cheap one because you’re going to end up being disappointed with it. I had the man for two 190, which is about $170. And I’ve been really happy with it, there’s multiple Manfrotto options available.

Nick can be really confusing if you’re trying to figure out which one you want to get for the first time. But if you want to cut through all of that, then just get this one and you won’t be disappointed. It has the added benefit of being able to work a horizontal column, meaning you can hang things over to shoot down. This is an essential feature unless you want to mount a camera from ceiling to do unboxing videos. Be warned though, if your cameras on the heavier side than the balancing of this can be a bit tricky. By only grief with this tripod is that I wish it was more weighted at the bottom to stop the tripod tipping. To keep things really simple. I just use some ankle weights that I have lying around in the house to help me counterbalance needed. It’s not ideal, it works. That means you don’t have to lug around really heavy tripod.

Finally, when it comes to the tripod, yellow, slightly confusing area you are going to have to navigate through is which head to buy. Because there are numerous different head options to go with different tripods. Some are better for still photos, while others are better for video, too, because I knew I was going to be doing a lot of video, I knew I needed to head the shoot fluidly. But I wanted to have a good support digital camera. As I knew at some stage, I’d probably want to upgrade from just using my iPhone. So this is the man fruto pro fluid video head. And I love it for about $150 it’s not cheap, but it is brilliant for video, and you can pan and tilt in several different directions all fluidly using the inbuilt handle.

And you can lock it in pretty much position takes a bit of getting used to trusting me if you want a professional-looking flow to your videos, and this is what you should go for. It has the added benefit of having a sliding lock mechanism. So you can mount your camera onto the lock mechanism and slide that in and out pretty easily when you want to. Overall then the tripod setup is not cheap. But if you’re going to invest money, this is where you should spend at first.

Another tool worth mentioning, I occasionally use it my tripod is this flexible arm thumb. I found that very occasionally when I was filming was useful to have another arm involved to achieve certain shots. So whilst this has come in handy for me, and it’s very cheap, is not something that I’d recommend a high priority purchase in the beginning. So you have got your tripod sorted, you are going to need a sort of iPhone clamp to hold your iPhone in place while you’re filming. I have two of these, I got a simple one when I first started, which is still my favorite is the Manfrotto m clamp.

But despite this being super sturdy, the big limitation was the can’t mount it horizontally. So I had to upgrade to the man for two pro smartphone clamp, which is more expensive. The Pro allow me to mount horizontally but allowed me to slide the mic on top easily. Just a reminder, all the links to all this equipment is in the description. The other thing I wanted to talk through today was lighting. You’ll see sorts of youtubers telling you that you need to buy lighting equipment, personally, I just think is not needed. Especially if you’re just getting started. Basically all you need and all I use is just good natural lighting. Make sure you film your window and try to film at the right time of day when the is nicely diffused, but still bright. You don’t want glare or direct sun.

So think the time of day that works for filming. Usually, for me that’s between 11 and two. But you can get some amazing at dusk or dawn.